The vast majority of the rural population in Mozambique lives on less than $1 per day and lacks basic services such as clean water and health care.
Mozambique is a country prone to natural disasters, such as drought and flooding, and where the incidence of illnesses like malaria, TB, and HIV/AIDS, is high. These factors, coupled with the lack of adequate transport, present a critical health situation.
We are situated in rural Mozambique, where the difficulties mentioned above are commonplace. Our health program was developed in response to these challenges. The focus of the program is two-fold: basic treatment of illnesses, and promotion of health through teaching.
The treatment of illnesses is provided through rural health posts staffed by trained health workers who have received basic training in identifying and managing signs and symptoms of diseases including diarrhea, respiratory infections, skin diseases, and malnutrition. We provide health workers with ongoing training, motivation and encouragement to ensure the best quality of care is provided given the context.
Teaching on health promotion and disease prevention is done through the following ways:
- Health workers teach on health issues through the health posts and at community meetings.
- Our schools present health teaching to children via a curriculum developed specifically for rural schools.
- A health course forms part of the leadership-training program. Trained leaders, in turn, take this life-saving information to hundreds of pastors in neighboring provinces, thus multiplying our health teaching efforts.
